Mohloai Mpesi
THE Passport Office in Butha-Buthe is battling a backlog of more than 4000 passports that are yet to be printed.
This emerged during a visit by Parliament’s Law and Public Safety Committee yesterday.
Passport officer, Khotso Sepitla, said the high demand for passports has overwhelmed the office, with printing delays leaving many applicants stranded as the office battles a backlog of 4 388 passports.
“Each district is given a daily quota of between 20 and 100 passports to be printed. We are forced to prioritize emergencies such as mine workers and patients requiring medical care abroad.
“This makes it impossible to meet the demand, as more than 500 people apply daily while we are only able to process about 30 passports a day,” he said.
Mr Sepitla said the backlog stretches as far back as April 2024, with some applicants still waiting for their documents but he also expressed concern about uncollected passports.
He said many applicants from Botha-Bothe work in South Africa and, after applying, often return undocumented without waiting for their passports.
In some cases, he said, relatives or friends attempt to collect passports on behalf of absent applicants, which raises security fears.
‘Mamokholoane Mohloboli, who also works in the same office, complained about a depressing working environment, pointing to broken walls, squeaky furniture, worn-out floor mats, and malfunctioning computers, which she said disrupts daily operations and contribute to staff stress.
Committee member, former deputy Prime Minister, Mothejoa Metsing, assured officers that Parliament will engage relevant stakeholders to address the challenges, noting that some of the problems, including passport shortages, stem from central government systems and require urgent intervention.
The persistent delays and difficulties in obtaining passports have led many Basotho to resort to crossing borders between Lesotho and South Africa without documentation, adding to problems in the neighbouring country.
A meeting of the Free State and Lesotho Cross-Border Crime Prevention Forum convened in Phoku highlighted the challenges posed by undocumented Basotho crossing into South Africa.
